Nico Rosberg: “That was an F1 Marathon today!”

Nico Rosberg completed the second day of Formula 1 pre-season testing for Mercedes AMG PETRONAS at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The German was behind the wheel of the W07 for his first run completing a total of 172 laps in Barcelona, more than his rivals, with a fastest lap time of 1m24.867s leading him to finish the session in fourth.

Despite it being his first day in the 2016 challenger, Rosberg admits he already feels comfortable in the car and felt today gave a great start to the testing programme.

“That was an F1 Marathon today!” said Rosberg. “It’s great to see that we are already able to do a lot of mileage – and we didn’t have a single problem either, which is really incredible.

“I’m very happy and proud of what the boys and girls at Brackley and Brixworth have done over the winter. I already feel very comfortable in the car. It’s a big positive to see everyone pushing so hard in all areas – bringing new developments like the floor we saw today, for example.

“The opposition are chasing us hard and we need to keep being innovative to stay ahead. At this time it’s not possible to say how quick we are compared to the others. We will maybe know more at the end of next week – but only Melbourne will give the full picture.

“Overall, it’s been a great start to the testing program and I can’t wait to be back in the car on Thursday.”

Lewis Hamilton will take back over the driving duties from Rosberg for the third day of pre-season testing tomorrow.